SAVANNAH COMBAT READINESS TRAINING CENTER, Ga., - While more than
250 participants of Exercise Ardent Sentry 2010 are here honing their skills
to protect American citizens against threats from the air, Airmen of the
Georgia Air National Guard's 165th Security Forces Squadron are protecting
them on the ground.
Sgt. Andrew Bryant is team chief for Talon 1, an Avenger missile battery
belonging to the South Carolina Army Guard's 263rd Army Air Missile Defense
Command. He and his Soldiers occupy one of several tactical sites that make
up the air defense ring around the Savannah metro area.
"This isn't the first time my crew and I have worked with Air Force or Air
Guard security forces, and I can tell you - it's a good feeling to know
they're around, on top of things," Bryant said.
The unit is part of the 165th Airlift Wing based here and much of what the
unit does - patrolling the flight line and property occupied by the wing and
the training center - is no different now from any other day.
What is different is the heightened sense of awareness that comes with an
exercise like Ardent Sentry, said Lt. Roy Fountain, the unit's operations
officer.
"Not only are we paying even more attention to who, or what, is on the
flight line or on post, we have the Joint Air Defense Command - Mobile to
monitor those events," he explained. "Our folks are also tasked with
patrolling the Avenger and Sentinel radar sites and checking on their crews.
"Each piece of the security mission has its own distinct challenges,"
Fountain said. "But our folks are certainly up to the job."
Airman 1st Class Darius Trammell, who recently graduated from security
forces training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, returned just in time for
Ardent Sentry.
Trammell and other members of the 165th SFS guard the JADOC-M entrance.
It's his first experience with this type of mission.
"I appreciate the opportunity to serve and protect the military and civilian
personnel, who are part of the exercise," he said between checking badges at
the JADOC-M compound. "I'm a hands on kind of person, so I enjoy being on
the front line. My fellow Airmen and I take our jobs seriously, so we don't
treat this as just another exercise."
treating it as the "real deal," they do more than learn from their
mistakes, he said. They do it right the first time.
Sgt. Junior Chupp is senior operator for the 263rd's Eagle Eye 3 and a few
other Sentinel sites. In his travels between sites, he often runs into the
165th Airmen during their patrols.
Having them on the job, he said, makes him feel just a bit more comfortable.
"If something happens out here, whether it's part of the exercise or a real
incident, it's good to know the 165th and the local authorities (Savannah
Metro Police and Jasper County, S.C., Sheriff's Office) are on top of the
situation," Chupp said.
As Ardent Sentry 2010 continues, more military and civilian personnel will
come under the purview and protection of the Georgia Air Guard's 165th
Security Forces Squadron.
Such a joint environment always presents its own set of challenges, but it's
nothing to which he and his Airmen cannot adapt, Fountain said.